A Night of Poor Choices
by Kinomi Akai
Summary: COMPLETE. Sasuke is sober, tired, and bitterly regretting letting his friends drag him out to a bar. At least he can pet this dog, though. SNS, Modern AU, Oneshot.


_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of its associated characters!  
_

 _Summar y: __COMPLETE._ _Sasuke is sober, tired, and bitterly regretting letting his friends drag him out to a bar. At least he can pet this dog, though. SNS, Modern AU, Oneshot._ _  
_

 _A/N: I've been away from this site for a bit since that weird profile virus thing. So you get two new fics tonight! I'm on ao3 as well, for those who don't know. _

_This fic is dedicated to like a million people. llkocoumll, for the original text prompt AND the anon on tumblr who motivated me to do it as soon as I reblogged it. Azag24 for their INCREDIBLE glasses!Sasuke art and Rasengan22 for yelling at me to WRITE and so I DID  
_

 _Hope you guys love it!_

* * *

 **A Night of Poor Choices  
**

Sasuke heaved a sigh of relief. The air wasn't clean—not by any means. He wouldn't even have described it as fresh. It was thick, filled with smoke, and altogether gross—

But he'd take pretty much anything over the inside of that club.

It had been as loud as he had expected—as overcrowded as he had expected, too. He hadn't, however, expected the bits of broken glass crunching under his feet every time he desperately tried to move anywhere, and he hadn't expected the three fights that had broken out _directly beside him,_ either—

What a disaster.

Sasuke shoved his hands into his pocket and shuffled closer to the road. It was his own fault for coming, really. He should have trusted his gut—but he had trusted that of his friends, instead.

The fact that their guts were filled with alcohol probably should have warned him off.

He pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts as he continued along the sidewalk. A cab would take at _least_ $20, and Sasuke was not about to pay $20 to have been dragged out to a bar by people who insisted Sasuke didn't need to bring his own car.

He sighed. This night had just been one bad decision after another.

He paused in his steps to turn back to face the club—still booming with the same drumming, monotone beat. Juugo was probably the most likely to check his phone (and the least likely to convince him to stay), so as much as Sasuke wanted to get as far as he could from the noise, he really ought to stay nearby…

The song changed, and the thumping—for one blissful, beautiful moment—paused.

And then it tripled in speed.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Sasuke muttered, spinning on his heel. $20 was looking more and more appealing by the second. He texted Juugo, stuffed his phone into his pocket, and paused.

There, not a step in front of him, was a dog.

Orange, fluffy, and leashed to a meter maid, it stared at Sasuke with it's ears perked up and tongue lolling out the side of its panting mouth—

"Hi," Sasuke said, like an idiot.

The dog's tail wagged.

Sasuke looked around him. It was nearly midnight.

"Where's your owner?" he muttered, leaning to the side to see if there were tags—he caught just a flash of silver before the dog moved with him. The dog's bright orange collar was reflective, which was something, and he supposed it was tied up, but—

 _Whiiiiiine_.

Sasuke blinked.

The dog whined at him again.

"I don't have food," he told it. The dog's tail started wagging as soon as he spoke again.

Sasuke glanced around him again before he finally looked back at the dog.

A night of poor choices. He supposed this fit the theme.

Slowly (gently, non-threateningly), Sasuke reached a hand out. Just the back of it—just far enough to reach the dog's nose, and angled slightly above just in case he had to wrench it back.

The dog sniffed his hand—once, twice, and then Sasuke pulled his hand back—

But it wasn't fast enough.

"Ugh," he said, staring down at his saliva-covered hand. The dog only panted, looking immensely pleased with itself.

"This is gross," he told it.

It hopped in place.

Well, fine. If the dog wanted to slobber all over him, he could give it a taste of its own medicine.

He reached out again, and this time, the dog met his hand. Sasuke watched, bemused, as the dog basically used Sasuke's hand to pet himself—using its nose, and then its head, and it was just trying so _hard_ that Sasuke couldn't help but take a few steps closer. It was wiping the slobber from Sasuke's hand, anyways.

He absentmindedly scratched behind the dog's ear as he crouched down. A collar and a leash surely meant tags, and even if the owner was nearby, it was better to be safe…

He paused, for a moment, just to feel around the collar—it looked like the tags had gotten tucked in somehow. But the dog whined, and Sasuke just _barely_ dodged the tongue that had aimed for his face—

"Alright, alright," he muttered, scratching the dog's ear again. If the low groan and paw on Sasuke's shoulder were anything to go by, he'd gotten the right message.

He felt around the collar again, just until the felt the small metal ring he was looking for. At the same time he gently untucked it, the dog put its other paw on his shoulder.

Sasuke stared at it, and then back at the dog.

"This can't possibly be comfortable for you."

The dog panted (right in Sasuke's face) in response. It's breath was about as bad as the stagnant puddles on the side of the road, and Sasuke rolled his eyes and quickly went back to trying to read the tags without the dog licking his face—

"Okay—see you! Sorry Kurama, that took—"

The voice paused.

And then it started laughing.

"This is your fault," Sasuke muttered at the dog, who was sitting, happy as could be, with both paws on Sasuke's shoulders.

"Oh my god, oh my god—wait, please don't move—don't move, don't move, don't move, I have to—"

About the same time he heard the small noise of a picture being taken, Sasuke felt the shreds of his pride wither up at die.

He glared at the dog.

The dog licked his nose.

"Ugh," Sasuke cringed back, feeling his palm painfully slide along the concrete of the sidewalk—this day was just—

"Kurama! Oh my god—sit. _Sit_ —let the poor guy breathe, Jesus—"

In the same moment Sasuke opened his eyes, he felt himself be pulled to his feet. The hand left his wrist only to gently rest on his back—

"Hey," the owner of the voice said. "You okay?"

Warm. That was Sasuke's first thought. It was somewhere between the wide, kind smile and the soft glow to his blue eyes—something about the way the strands of blonde hair framed his stupidly symmetrical face—

Sasuke immediately looked back down at the concrete.

"Fine."

This day just got worse and worse.

"Lemmie see your hand," the blonde said, pulling at it. "It looked like you scraped it."

He had, actually, and the blonde's grimace was a pretty accurate demonstration about how Sasuke felt about the whole ordeal.

"Fuck," the blonde said. "Hang on—one sec, I might have some—"

He scurried off to the car, the dog (Kurama?) jumping behind him all the way. The second the door swung open, it was as if the dog was _desperate_ —

"Down, Kurama, not yet. Not _yet_ , buddy, hang on." Sasuke could hear the voice, muffled as it was, as the man dug through his car for something or other. He glanced down at his hand—which was fine, really, but it was rather dirty and starting to bleed…

"Here," the man trotted back over to him—Kurama hot on his heels. Sasuke watched him poor a water bottle over a rag—

"It's a clean towel, I promise."

Sasuke took it from him.

"Thanks," he said quietly, immediately diverting his eyes as that blinding smile was directed back at him again. He focused, instead, on getting all the rocks and grime away from where the skin had broken—

"Aw, shit, you're bleeding." The blonde was back again, and hovering over Sasuke's shoulder. "I'm sorry. Kurama can get kinda crazy but it's never really with strangers—d'you have a pet? Or food?"

Sasuke passed the towel back and shook his head.

"Huh," the blonde said, taking it. "Guess he just likes you."

There was a pause. Sasuke vaguely glanced at his phone—no message, yet ( _still_ )—as Naruto turned back to his car, still open—

"I'm Naruto, by the way," the blonde ( _Naruto_ ) said as he turned back to Sasuke.

"Sasuke," he responded quietly.

"Sasuke," Naruto repeated, absentmindedly scratching the top of Kurama's head. "What brings you to the sidewalk in the middle of the night?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"I could ask the same of you."

Naruto laughed.

"Touché." Kurama stretched his head up, and Naruto changed his hand to scratch at his chin, instead. "We went to visit Kurama's best friend—didn't we?" Naruto turned to the dog, grinning. "Aw, yeah—you tired him right out. Didn't even break a sweat though, did you? You big bouncy fox—" Kurama closed his eyes as Naruto rubbed his hands all over his face—

"Your dog has a best friend?"

Naruto grinned back at Sasuke.

"Oh yeah," he said, switching back to scratching the top of the dog's head. "They've known each other since they were puppies—they go _nuts_ when they see each other. S'why it went so long today, I guess." Naruto paused, glancing behind him for a moment. "Oh—but yeah, I planned on doing way more stuff today, so—" Naruto gestured his thumb at the convenience store beside them, "s'why I'm here."

"Ah," Sasuke said quietly, watching as Naruto paused in his petting— _just_ long enough for Kurama to decide that it was Sasuke's turn.

Naruto laughed as the dog trotted up to Sasuke, pressing his body closer and closer—

"Gentle, Kurama," he warned, and the dog relented (just a little). Still, he stared up at Sasuke, tail wagging away, and Sasuke couldn't help but sigh as he began to scratch the dog's chin—

"Yeah, that's how he gets ya." Naruto laughed, nudging the dog with his foot a little. "You big suck."

Sasuke snorted, watching as the dog happily closed his eyes again.

"Your dog is spoiled."

"Oh, I know. He's a little monster." Naruto grinned, watching Sasuke continue to pet the dog for a moment longer. "You're gonna abandon me for this guy, aren't you, Kurama? He could be anybody."

"I could be," Sasuke acknowledged. What he _was_ was an idiot, and it was growing clearer with every second his phone remained stubbornly silent. Honestly…

"You waiting for someone?"

Sasuke looked up to meet Naruto's expectant gaze—and then he sighed. He supposed, as Kurama licked the palm of his hand, that there was no saving the shreds of his pride now.

"My...friends," he frowned over the word, "are in there." He nodded toward the building, still faintly thumping to the promise of hearing-aids, tinnitus...Sasuke's ears _still_ felt as if they were ringing.

"Ah," Naruto said, and Sasuke got the _distinct_ feeling he was being laughed at. "Not much of a club guy, are you?"

"No," he said, scowling furiously as Naruto's grin widened—

"Hey, hey—" Naruto held his hands up in acquiescence, still smiling, "I'm not judging. I find it helps if you're absolutely hammered, though, and either you hold your alcohol like an absolute legend, or—"

"I had one drink," Sasuke deadpanned, "two hours ago."

"Yep," Naruto laughed, "found your problem."

Sasuke glared at him.

"Lemmie guess," Naruto said, entirely unfazed, "your ride's in there?"

Naruto gestured towards the building, and Sasuke didn't even bother responding. Kurama was a convenient distraction—something to look at other than Naruto, who was still smiling. Still bright and bubbly and it was like Sasuke was trying to look at the goddamn _sun_ —

"You need a ride?"

Sasuke's head jerked up.

Naruto threw him a knowing smile. "You have to be willing to cuddle with Kurama, though. Passenger seat is his."

Sasuke made a point of staring down at the dog, currently sitting on his feet with his full body pressed against Sasuke's legs—

Naruto laughed.

"C'mon. Tell me where we're going."

* * *

One minute and one dog in Sasuke's lap later, Naruto pulled out of parking spot. He actually knew the exact apartment building that Sasuke was talking about—

"Yeah," Naruto said, eyes flicking to his side mirror. "We actually go to the park near there all the time. Maybe that's why Kurama likes you so much…"

It was weird. He'd taken few _weeks_ to warm up to Naruto. He wasn't even that affectionate with Kiba, and he'd known him practically since Naruto had adopted him.

Sasuke, firmly hidden behind Kurama's panting face, shifted.

"Is it that strange?"

Naruto glanced over at him and grinned. Kurama was trying to lick him for the millionth time—

"Yeah," he said, swiftly changing lanes. "I mean he's a cuddly dog, don't get me wrong, but not with _strangers_ —you sure you don't have food or something?"

Sasuke snorted.

"Yes, I'm sure." There was a pause. "And you realize you just invited the _stranger_ into your car, right?"

"My hundred and fifty pound dog is on top of you," Naruto said easily. "I think I'm good."

"Well," Sasuke let out a breath, "that explains why I can't feel my thighs."

The laugh burst out of Naruto before he could stifle it.

"You're funny, Sasuke," he said, slowing the car as the light turned red.

Sasuke's head peeked out from over Kurama's shoulder.

"Am I?"

Naruto glanced at him.

"Yeah."

The light turned green, and the car moved forwards.

"Did you tell your friends you left?"

"I—oh," Naruto saw Sasuke shift, "I—I can't get my phone…it's in my pocket, but—"

Sasuke made a pained noise, and Naruto glanced back just in time to see him desperately attempt to dodge Kurama's tongue again—

"Okay, well," Naruto sucked in a breath, biting down on the laugh, "we're almost there anyways. Can I like—park? Where do I go?"

"I have a card for the lot," Sasuke said.

"...Is the card the same place as your phone?"

It was the quietest, softest "fuck," that got Naruto that time.

"Okay, uh," he said, absolutely unable to fight the laugh, "I'll pull in somewhere before—we'll get Kurama to move, hang on, hang on—"

There were a couple parking spots right here anyway, and it was better than blocking the parking lot for everyone else while he tried to deal with Kurama.

Naruto pulled into a spot—beside another meter maid, but they'd just be here a second. He glanced over his shoulder—no cars, okay—before hopping out of the car.

"Okay," Naruto said, opening Sasuke's door—Kurama was already panting, already half-standing, ready to go— "gentle, Kurama—gentle, gen—"

Sasuke made a small, distinctly _pained,_ noise as Kurama used his lap as a jump off point.

"Sorry," Naruto called quickly, grabbing Kurama's collar before he could get too far— _how_ did he still have so much _energy_ — "You okay, Sasuke?"

"Fine," came the quieter, softer voice, but Naruto was entirely distracted by his big bounding monster of a dog—

"Oh—wait, okay, Kurama, c'mere." The dog bounced along with him to the side of the car—he'd tucked his leash juuust here, so—

"There we go," Naruto said, heaving a breath of relief as he straightened up. Kurama, like Naruto had expected, was immediately wandering around with his nose glued to the ground.

"He needs to go to the bathroom," Naruto told Sasuke, who'd come out just enough to lean on the side of Naruto's car with his arms crossed. The guy looked so stoic, if he hadn't first met him pretty much cuddling Kurama, then—

"I can see that," Sasuke deadpanned, and something about the way he said it—Naruto spun around—

"Oh, come on."

It was Sasuke's turn to laugh at him, now.

Naruto put his hand over his face, and turned back to Sasuke to give Kurama some, uh, privacy.

"You mind grabbing a plastic bag from my car?" Naruto nodded towards the back seats—the door was still open. "I think I've got a couple."

"Sure."

Sasuke moved to the other door, half-smile still on his face…which, whew, okay. Sasuke was an obviously attractive guy as it was, but when he smiled…

"This alright?"

Naruto let out a breath.

"Yeah, that'll work." Naruto took the bag and turned back to Kurama, who had apparently finished.

"D'you mind…?" Naruto held out Kurama's leash to Sasuke, who didn't even hesitate.

"Kurama," Sasuke called, and Naruto watched his dog trot right up to him.

"Jesus," Naruto said, laughing a little. "I think he likes you more than he likes me."

"That's because I'm a novelty," came the response, and Naruto nearly fell as he crouched down.

"Don't make me laugh!" he yelled back. "This is a delicate operation."

He flipped the bag over his hand as he heard Sasuke snort, and picked up Kurama's, uh, business before he firmly tied it shut.

"Okay," he said, glancing around. "You—crap, you don't see a garbage can around here, do you?"

Sasuke snorted, and swung the car door closed.

"We'll find one."

* * *

"I can take Kurama if you want," Naruto offered after a moment of walking.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I think your hands are full."

And Naruto laughed, again, like he had been doing all night (and Sasuke glanced over at him with the warmth bubbling up in his chest, like he had been doing all night).

"Touché," Naruto said. "He's being so good with you though—are you a vet or something? Dog whisperer?"

Sasuke snorted.

"No," he said. "I'm a software developer."

"Oh yeah? Like what kind of stuff?"

Sasuke cleared his throat and diverted his eyes. He took pride in his work—he did—but Naruto was a stranger, and Sasuke was very used to the skepticism, disbelief and general trivial perception of what he did.

"Video games."

He saw, out of the corner of his eye, Naruto turn to face him better.

"You—like, you make video games?"

Sasuke shuffled uncomfortably.

"One video game. It's a small company, but—"

" _What_ —Sasuke, that's so cool! That's so fucking—oh my god—like you're an indie dev company?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes a little.

"Yes. Relax, moron. You're going to wake someone up."

" _Hey_! You ass, I'm allowed to be excited about this—you _know_ it's cool. Look at me and tell me you don't think it's cool."

Naruto pointed right at his chest (with his free hand), and Sasuke ducked away to hide the smile.

"I do enjoy it," he conceded, letting Kurama pull him forward, "yes."

Naruto trotted to catch up to him, still looking at him expectantly.

"It's hard work," he said, after a moment. "There's no break when you work for yourself."

"Mm, I know." Sasuke glanced back, just as Naruto's gaze turned to the concrete. It flickered up to him for just a moment—weird, how those eyes were so clear in the dark—

"I'm actually a vet," Naruto said. "So I run a little clinic—well, it's out of my house. It all kinda started by accident and then I ended up going to school for it, and…well—anyway. I know what you mean. Even when it's not my hours, I feel like I'm always doing something for work. It's hard to find a balance."

"You're a veterinarian?"

"Wh—oh, yeah. I've done it for like—three years? Almost four, now. You own the game company too?"

"Co-own, yes."

"Whoa," Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet, and Sasuke couldn't help but duck his head again, "how many of you are there?"

"It's just the four of us right now," Sasuke said, pausing as Kurama stayed with his nose _firmly_ stuck to something behind them. "We were colleagues at a larger company, but that…didn't work out."

Naruto watched him for a moment longer. "Probably for the best, in the end—bigger companies can get pretty sketchy with game devs."

"It was, yes," Sasuke inclined his head, and Kurama trotted back up to them. "So we left and started our own."

"Man, that's so ballsy," Naruto laughed. "What're you guys called?"

Sasuke glanced at him. "Taka."

Naruto paused midstep.

"Taka—Taka, like—like, Revolution, Taka?"

Sasuke blinked. Naruto's eyes were wide.

"That—yes, that's our working title."

"Oh my god!" Naruto slapped his shoulder. "Oh my god! I backed you guys! You're kidding me—I'm so fucking excited about that, I don't even have _time_ to play anything anymore and I still—are you kidding me?!"

"I—"

"How close are you? Doesn't it close tomorrow? It—"

"Breathe, moron," Sasuke cut him off, the laugh bubbling up in his throat. "We hit our target this morning. Hence the," Sasuke waved a hand around him, "celebration."

"What?! Yes!" Naruto pumped a fist in the air, bouncing around Sasuke in a way that made him suddenly realize just how much the dog took after his owner. "What are you doing here with me?! Oh my god, go back—"

"I absolutely will not."

Naruto laughed.

"Okay—okay, you know what, that's fair. Kurama, c'mere!"

"Naruto—"

"Here, Kurama!" Naruto patted Sasuke's stomach, and Sasuke frantically took a step back—

 _Wham_!

It was a good thing Naruto was still somewhat behind him, because that dog would have very likely knocked Sasuke to the ground. As it was, a laughing Naruto had caught him with his free arm, while Kurama stayed jumped up onto Sasuke's torso, tongue lolling two inches from his face—

"Good boy, Kurama!" Naruto laughed, and Sasuke could feel his breath on his ear—

"Kurama," Sasuke said, looking the dog right in the eye, "get him."

"Wh—wait—"

At the same time, Sasuke turned, and Kurama lunged.

* * *

An embarrassing amount of time later, Naruto was completely out of breath. He'd managed to dodge Kurama for the most part, but stupid Sasuke and him made such a good _team_ (not to mention, Naruto was still trying to hang on to this stupid bag of poop)—

"Okay," Naruto held up a hand, "okay—I yield! I yield."

Kurama licked him on the nose.

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Traitor."

Behind them, Sasuke laughed, and it was a small relief that at least _he_ was panting, too. Naruto forced himself to straighten up.

"Do you think," he said, sucking in another breath, "we passed a trash can?"

Sasuke snorted, and Naruto _knew_ he was being laughed at.

"We passed several," he said, re-attaching Kurama's leash to his collar again.

"Aw," Naruto said glumly.

"Let's go, loser."

Naruto laughed and playfully punched his shoulder. "Ass! You cheated. It was two against one."

"Excuses."

"Hey!"

Naruto shoved Sasuke again, and all it did was make Sasuke laugh.

"Jeez," Naruto said, "Kurama, never meet your heroes. They're all assholes."

Kurama panted up at him, but Sasuke was staring too—with his eyebrow raised, this time.

"I'm your hero?"

Naruto grinned.

"If you actually get the game done by next winter, you will be."

"Ugh," Sasuke looked away. "Karin said—I don't know what she was thinking."

"Karin—that somebody else on the team?"

"Mm," Sasuke nodded, "Karin, Juugo and Suigetsu. Actually…"

Naruto glanced over as Sasuke dug through his pocket—and then scowled.

"…Still nothing, huh?"

Sasuke stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

"I hate my friends."

Naruto laughed.

"They're drunk and having fun. Let them—I mean, except for your DD, I hope—"

"Juugo's far more likely to be asleep. Trash can over there."

"That's—oh, cool, one sec." Naruto trotted over to _finally_ throw the bag away. "I mean, I can't blame him though," Naruto continued as he made it back to Sasuke, "I bet you guys are exhausted. How're you holding up?"

Sasuke glanced over at him and shrugged. "More awake than I thought I'd be," he said. "Maybe it's the cold."

Naruto paused.

"Oh—are you cold?" Naruto paused. "Here, take my coat—"

Sasuke blinked. "I'm alright."

Naruto was already pulling it off.

"I've got a sweater and a scarf under this—and I dragged you out here in the first place. Here."

Naruto held out his coat.

"C'mon. I'm still all sweaty from losing."

Sasuke snorted and ducked his head—but Naruto saw the smile all the same.

He took it as a personal victory as Sasuke slipped his coat on.

* * *

The walk back to the car felt just as short as the walk away. Naruto made stupid jokes and laughed at everything Sasuke said, and Kurama was no less eager to stop and sniff everything along the way. It had been nearly an hour since he met Naruto—judging from the brief glance at his phone—he knew that. He knew that, but…

"Alrighty," Naruto said, letting out a breath. "You cool with cuddling Kurama again?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Do I have a choice?"

Naruto laughed. " _No_ ," he said, "especially not now. I dunno what you did to make my dog fall in love with you, but you've done this to yourself."

He opened the door, and gently held onto Kurama's collar.

"Get in—and grab your card and phone or whatever you need, and then I'll let Kurama up."

Sasuke tossed his wallet and phone onto _Naruto's_ seat, swiftly buckled himself in, and braced himself.

"Incoming!" was his only warning before he had a big, panting, 150-pound lapdog directly on top of him.

Kurama sat facing the windshield, this time, and he seemed incredibly pleased with himself. One of his paws was _just_ slipping off the side of Sasuke's thigh, though, and it was pinching it more and _more and more_ —

"Kurama, paw, buddy, paw—" Sasuke heaved a sigh of relief as the pain stopped. Naruto had crawled across the middle of the car and held Kurama's paw in his hand. "You okay? Here—"

He shoved Kurama over, just a little, and Sasuke scrambled to shift enough so that the dog's paws would be on the seat, at least, instead of his skin.

"That okay? I know he's big."

"It's alright," Sasuke responded automatically. Naruto's head tilted to the side, and he gave Sasuke another onceover. Somehow, in the light of the car, Naruto's eyes felt even more piercing than they had in the night, and Sasuke felt some sort of panic drive him to look away—

"Mmkay," Naruto said finally, sticking Sasuke's things into a cup holder. "Let's get you home."

* * *

Naruto grunted as he leaned out of the car just enough to swipe the card. He'd known the building well enough, but navigating the parking lot was something else entirely.

"Right here is fine," Sasuke offered quietly. Naruto resisted the urge to glance over at him again—Sasuke was obviously (finally) getting tired. It was, in Naruto's experience, pretty tough to stay awake with Kurama cuddling you, too…

"Mmkay," Naruto let out a breath with the word, and put the car into park. "I'll grab Kurama again—so he doesn't try to come live with you."

Sasuke snorted, and Naruto took that as a win. It was only another moment before he was over at the other side of the car, and he'd gotten used to Kurama's immediate launch years ago.

The catch came pretty easily, now.

"There ya go," Naruto said. "Home sweet home."

He kept a hold on Kurama's collar—just in case—but the other hand scratching him behind the ears was keeping him pretty happy.

"Thanks," Sasuke said, slipping out of the car.

Naruto waited a moment before he let Kurama go.

"Okay, buddy," he tapped the seat. "Back in."

Kurama looked at the seat—at Naruto, and then at Sasuke.

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Sasuke has to go home. It's bed time, Kurama— _in_."

One more pat (firmer, this time), and Kurama was back in the car. Naruto shut the door behind him.

"Okay," Naruto ran a hand through his hair as he turned back to Sasuke, "hey—thanks for hanging out a little. It was really fun—sorry it took so long to get you home, though."

"It was Kurama's fault," Sasuke said, and Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

There was a moment's pause, though, after Naruto's laugh faded, and he knew he should turn around and go home, but Sasuke was just standing there too...and he still had Naruto's jacket (although, Naruto really didn't mind if he held onto it a little, and maybe he'd return it, sometime, if—)

"You know," Sasuke started, glancing behind him, "it's not a demo or anything, but I have some…playable areas on my computer. If you wanted to try them."

Naruto's eyes went wide.

"You—you mean like, the game? Like right now? Like I could try the game right now? Are you—"

Sasuke snorted, and jerked his head behind him.

"Let's go, loser."

"Wh— _hey_!" But that reminded Naruto— "Wait, does your place allow dogs? I don't want to—"

"It allows pets, relax," Sasuke said. "My neighbours have a cat."

"Oh fuck—oh my god, okay—" Naruto swung the car door back open. "Kurama—c'mon!"

* * *

Naruto, it seemed, could get exactly the same level of excited as his dog. Sasuke really wanted to blame the fatigue, or the dog, or any other external reason for why he'd invited this stupid bubbly _stranger_ into his apartment at one in the morning, but—

When they had paused, and Naruto had turned back towards his car, Sasuke had just felt as if...as if that would have been it. As if that would be the last time he would see Naruto. As if he would have been...missing a chance, somehow. Missing out. He just—

He hadn't been ready for this night to end.

Sasuke used the door in front of him as an excuse to keep his eyes away from Naruto. He couldn't make sense of any of the decisions he'd made tonight. He'd just been—

"Whoa," said Naruto, and Sasuke paused. Naruto's eyes were wide, and Kurama stayed loyally at his side at the entrance to Sasuke's apartment—

"Your place is—it's really nice," Naruto said, eyes darting to Sasuke, then the ground, then behind him. "I'm—are you sure that you—I mean, Kurama sheds a lot and I'm kind of a mess, I don't mean to be but I always am, and I—"

"Naruto," Sasuke rolled his eyes, "it looks this clean because I've been practically living at the office for the past week. Come in."

Naruto laughed a little, but still paused in his next step.

"But—oh, just kick me out whenever you want, okay? I won't mind—I don't want to overstay—"

"Kurama, please make your owner sit down."

The dog yipped and danced its way through Naruto's feet, and Naruto laughed.

"Okay, okay—I'm going!"

Sasuke shut the door behind them, watching as Kurama practically knocked Naruto forward.

"He's well-trained," Sasuke commented.

Naruto looked up.

"You have no idea." He laughed, grabbing Kurama's face and squishing it a little. "We've been—I only got Kurama a couple years ago. He was adopted as a pup but then he got returned a couple times—to the foster home, I mean. The one I was just at—with his best friend?"

Naruto looked up at Sasuke, as if making sure he understood, and Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "He's a real high-energy pup. But he's smart, and that's the problem. If you don't stimulate him enough, he gets bored, and that's when he starts to wreck stuff...and it's not just about keeping him active. We have to keep changing it up—new toys, new tricks, new people—" Naruto threw Sasuke a grin and a wink, and for some godforsaken reason, Sasuke felt his heartbeat triple in speed—

"So we've trained a lot. He's really good at picking up subtle commands now. He knows certain words and he kinda recognizes my tone of voice and stuff...like—d'you have a water bottle or something?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"In the fridge."

"That works. Kurama," he commanded, and the dog was immediately at attention. "You know who Sasuke is?"

Kurama glanced around him.

"Go see Sasuke."

Kurama glanced up at Naruto, before he trotted over to Sasuke's feet.

"Good boy!" Naruto laughed, and Sasuke scratched the top of the dog's head. He knew his name already…

"I need to you to fetch from the fridge, okay?" Kurama's ears perked up. "Water bottle—go."

And Kurama was off.

"I dunno how well this'll work," Naruto said, sidling up to Sasuke as Kurama sniffed along the ground. "It's a new place, so he doesn't know where the fridge is, but it's a good exercise." He paused for a moment. "Fridge, Kurama!"

Kurama, who had looked ready to hop up on a counter, paused.

"That's not a fridge."

The dog let out a small whine, and kept sniffing along the floor.

"You ever had a pet, Sasuke? I know you don't now."

"My mother had a cat," Sasuke said quietly, "but my parents moved back to Japan after they retired. I don't see them often."

Naruto looked over at him.

"That's too bad. Distance is tough."

Sasuke shrugged.

"It's alright. We never got along very well."

That made Naruto watch him for another moment, and Sasuke silently willed the floor to open up and swallow him. That was _far_ too personal and entirely out of the blue, and for god's sake—

"It's funny," Naruto said, turning back to watch Kurama. "I grew up in a foster home—in a couple of them, really—and I never got adopted. Kinda like Kurama."

Sasuke stared at him.

"But I always thought, as a kid, that having any parents would be better than no parents at all." Naruto's eyes flickered back to him, and a small, sheepish smile spread across his face. "Stupid, huh?"

Sasuke swallowed.

"...That's pretty stupid, yes." It was weak, and small, and Sasuke had to look away as he said it—but Naruto laughed and shoved at his shoulder nonetheless.

"Thanks, dick. Your kitchen is too confusing for my dog."

"He's run past the fridge three times."

"Yeah," Naruto said, "get a more obvious fridge. C'mon, man."

Sasuke snorted.

"Kurama," he called, and as the dog glanced over at him, he pointed. "That's the fridge."

"Hey! That's cheating!"

"It's a new place, you—" Sasuke's voice cut off as Kurama jumped up, weaved his paw around the handle, and _pulled_.

"Toldja he's good."

It was only another moment before a panting Kurama stood in front of Sasuke, tail wagging away, with a bottle of water in his mouth.

"Ah," Sasuke said, taking it, "thanks."

Naruto laughed.

"Don't forget to close the fridge, Kurama."

The dogs ears perked up—he used his nose to nuzzle the fridge closed, this time.

"Good boy!" Naruto crouched down on the floor and held out his arms—it was less than a second before Kurama was in them. "Awwww, yeah, you big fox, you jumpy, crazy, cute boy, you—"

"Should I leave you two alone?"

Naruto laughed, and Kurama took it as his chance to lick Naruto even more.

"You—hey, Kurama—Ku—" Naruto dissolved into laughter. "Evil monster—buh—go after _Sasuke_ , get Sasuke—"

The dog looked up at Sasuke, tail still wagging. At the same time, Naruto turned to face him, too.

"Keep going after Naruto," Sasuke told the dog. "You like me more than him."

" _Hey!_ "

"It's true," he said, turning on his heel. "Make yourself at home. I'll grab my computer."

* * *

Sasuke was still fiddling with cables by the time Naruto freed himself from his menace of a dog. He was kneeling on the floor, muttering about something, and Naruto distinctly noticed that his coat had been tossed onto Sasuke's bed.

Naruto stepped into the room, and Sasuke's head twitched towards him.

"Most of it is on my desktop," Sasuke said, not looking up. "And the rest is on my work computer. I'm trying to transfer some to my laptop."

"Wh—you don't have to do that, if it's like a huge hassle or something—"

"No," Sasuke said. "It's meant to be played on a TV. I'll hook up an HDMI."

"Oh," Naruto's grin widened, "okay— _cool_ , that's really fucking—oh my god, I'm so excited, can I help?"

Sasuke snorted.

"It's transferring files and using a cable," he said, sitting back on his heels to look up at Naruto. "I think I'm okay."

Naruto stared at him.

"...You wear glasses?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Somehow, the thick black frames only suited the action even more.

"Yes. Over half of the population does. Is it that shocking to you?"

"Wh—" Naruto laughed, "oh my god, you dick, I just didn't expect it. You've been in here for like two minutes!"

"Does it take you longer than two minutes to put on a pair of glasses?"

"Wow," Naruto deadpanned. "Don't make me call Kurama in here. He'll trash your whole room. Can I sit on your bed?"

"Have you washed your hands?"

"I'm gonna tell Kurama you think he's dirty," he said, and Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I used your bathroom."

"You used my bathroom and was surprised I could put on a pair of glasses in the time it took?" Sasuke muttered, and it was _only_ the fact that Sasuke was surrounded by valuable electronics that stopped Naruto from shoving him.

"Oh my god, I was _surprised_ , okay, I didn't expect them to look so—"

Naruto froze.

Sasuke leaned back and rested his elbow over his propped-up knee.

"Shut up," Naruto pointed right at him, "that's not—I just meant that—shut _up_ , stop making that stupid face—"

"I'm not making a face," Sasuke said, eyes glittering with amusement. "Look so what?"

"You _are_ making a face and—oh my god." Naruto ducked down, face burning. Him and his stupid mouth—

"Hmm?"

Naruto glared at him through his fingers.

"You're one of those assholes who know they're good-looking, aren't you?"

You could _see_ Sasuke's ego swell.

"Am I?"

" _Sasuke_ , oh my god, I'm getting out of here."

Face burning, Naruto nearly jumped over Sasuke to make it back to the bedroom door—

"W-wait—" Sasuke was on his feet before Naruto even made it through. He caught Naruto's arm, and Naruto turned to see all traces of laughter gone from his face—

Oh.

"Oh—I'm not like," Naruto waved an arm behind him, " _leaving_ , leaving."

Sasuke pulled his hand back.

Naruto grinned a little. "M'just stopping you from making fun of me."

Sasuke let out a soft snort, but his face was flushed, and his eyes couldn't quite seem to make it up to Naruto's—Naruto felt his face flush again, and rubbed the back of his neck as he stepped away—

"...and I'm gonna go check that my dog isn't tearing up your living room."

Sasuke nodded quickly.

"Yes—do that."

* * *

Okay.

Alright.

Well.

Sasuke knelt back on the floor and let out every bit of air in his lungs.

Okay. Naruto was an attractive stranger. An attractive stranger in his apartment at one in the morning. An attractive stranger who had accepted his invitation into Sasuke's apartment at one in the morning, who had promptly openly admitted he thought Sasuke was attractive, after he had known full well which building Sasuke had been in, which meant there was a good chance he knew it was a gay bar, which meant—

"Sasuke!" Sasuke jolted as Naruto's voice rang down the hall. "How do you feel about dogs on your furniture?"

Against every will, Sasuke smiled. The files were finished transferring anyway, so Sasuke grabbed his laptop and pushed through the door.

"Why do I get the feeling," he called back, moving down the hall, "that it's already too late?"

Naruto, sitting on his couch with Kurama already half up on his lap, threw him an innocent, charming smile. Sasuke rolled his eyes and pretended it didn't work.

"Whatever."

He busied himself with the TV—dragging a stool over to rest his laptop on it. His decent HDMI cable was at the office, so this shorter one would have to do, which was a shame because the controller had to hook up to the laptop, and—

"Should I sit on the floor? I can come closer."

Sasuke glanced behind him.

"Can you?"

Naruto was just as much held hostage as Sasuke had been in the car, from the looks of things. He could just see the edge of Naruto's grin as he strained to peek over Kurama's shoulder—

"I mean, it'll take some effort," Naruto laughed, "but hang on, gimmie a sec. Kurama—ugh, you big—"

Naruto grunted, shoving at his dog until he got the message. Unfortunately, the message he seemed to get was that it was time to go to _Sasuke_ instead—

"Wh—Kurama—" It was always the _face_ , why was the dog always trying to lick his face—damn it, Naruto was laughing at him again—

"Kurama, off, boy, let Sasuke breathe—" Naruto's laugh was cut by a snort, right in the middle, as he pulled his dog away. He threw Sasuke a sheepish smile.

"Sorry," Naruto said, hugging Kurama to him, "I think he decided you were gone for too long."

Sasuke snorted. "Your dog is clingy."

Naruto laughed.

"You're realizing this now? He's fallen in love with you after an hour and a half." He turned back to Kurama. "Take it slow, buddy, you're gonna scare him away—"

Sasuke shoved Naruto's shoulder, and the blonde dissolved into laughter.

"You're such a moron."

"Mm," Naruto said, propping himself back up. "I get that a lot. I like your shirt, by the way."

Sasuke frowned down at himself and felt his face flush. He hadn't even bothered changing after they had left the office—it was just a loose sleeveless shirt, with small text that spelled out nothing more than _don't talk to me_. He'd slept in this shirt before.

"...Do you?"

"Yeah," Naruto laughed, "it fits your asshole personality perfectly."

Sasuke shoved his shoulder into Naruto's. It only made the blonde laugh harder.

"Here," Sasuke said, passing him a controller. "Let me load up the file."

"Ooh—yeah, okay, awesome."

It was actually already loaded, and Sasuke had little to no reason to still be wearing his reading glasses as he started the file.

But Naruto didn't need to know that.

He surreptitiously adjusted them as he leaned back against the couch. (He also didn't need to be sitting on the floor, but Naruto's knee rested against his and Kurama, at his side, was a convenient excuse—)

"Okay," Naruto breathed out, eyes glinting with challenge. "Time to embarrass myself."

"Already past that, loser."

* * *

All things considered, Naruto thought he did a pretty decent job not sucking. Sasuke obviously disagreed, from the way he kept _laughing_ —

"You're such a dickhead," Naruto muttered, starting the game again. That last death had been bullshit, and Sasuke _had_ to know it.

"Mhm," Sasuke said, shifting along Naruto's side. "You're better than I expected."

Naruto threw him a grin. "I dunno how you managed to make that sound like an insult."

Sasuke laughed, and Naruto's eyes stayed on him for about three seconds longer than they should have. He was already attractive as it was—but here, smiling, with his leg resting against Naruto's and his right hand still scratching the top of Kurama's head—

Sasuke had a hold on every single one of Naruto's heartstrings, and _boy_ was he pulling.

"You died again."

"Wha—no! Damn it!" Naruto groaned. "Oh my god. Fuck, can I try—"

"Load back in," Sasuke leaned closer, "but don't move. Stop."

Naruto lifted his fingers off the controller in acquiescence.

"Okay, put your finger—no," Sasuke reached over and moved it himself, "like this. And then—"

Sasuke moved his other hand, and Naruto hovered somewhere between remaining absolutely frozen and leaning closer to Sasuke, too—

"Flick the control stick up as you press—don't keep it forward, just flick it."

"Oh—like—" Naruto paused. "Oh. _Oh_ —cool, Sasuke, why didn't you tell me I could do that!"

"I was seeing if you would figure it out."

"Guh," Naruto let out a breath, trying it again, "just call me a moron and get it over with."

"No," Sasuke said quietly, "I was considering adding a hint earlier on. We don't really use a tutorial…hold on."

Sasuke stood, and Naruto quickly glanced back at the game to make sure he wasn't gonna die—he didn't actually know if he could pause it—as he moved behind the couch. Kurama rolled over, letting out a deep sigh, and vaguely watched him too.

But Sasuke was back in barely a moment—pen and notebook in hand. Kurama made a little noise as he sat down, and Naruto ducked his head to hide his smile as Sasuke immediately scratched his ear.

"Okay," Sasuke said, settling back against the couch, "keep going."

Naruto grinned.

"Am I allowed to try to break your game?"

Sasuke snorted. "You can try."

"Oh," Naruto nudged Sasuke's shoulder as he narrowed his eyes back on the screen, "it is _so_ on."

* * *

Naruto managed to freeze the game three times. Sasuke made him recreate the first two, so he could jot down everything he could—but then Naruto glitched through a wall and Sasuke entire laptop froze—

"Shit—I think I need to give your computer a break," Naruto said, grimacing as Sasuke reached over to forcefully restart it.

"Mm," Sasuke said, sighing as he leaned back, "that's alright. It's used to this."

Naruto let out a small laugh.

"If I'm the reason your game gets delayed…"

Sasuke reached up and lazily flicked his arm.

"Don't flatter yourself, loser. All of the content is backed up a million times, anyway."

Sasuke stretched out his legs, and Kurama took it as his chance to shuffle over and stuff his face in Sasuke's lap.

"Stupid dog," he said quietly, rubbing his cheek a little. It made Kurama's eyes slowly flutter closed, so he must have been doing something right…

"Hey," Naruto's voice was soft, and his smile was something close to _fond_ (Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat at the thought), "thanks for letting me come up. I didn't expect to have this much fun tonight."

Sasuke turned his gaze back to Kurama, already feeling the heat in his cheeks.

"I mean it," Naruto insisted. "I'm just a stranger, and you could've—"

"I'm a stranger, too," Sasuke pointed out, "and you willingly followed me here."

Naruto laughed.

"Yeah, I mean...okay," he rolled his eyes a little, but his smile grew softer and his eyes flickered up to Sasuke's for just a moment, "but Kurama likes you, so you can't be that bad."

There was a small pause. Naruto shrugged a little.

"Animals have a sense about this stuff, y'know."

"...I do know," Sasuke replied quietly, and it made Naruto look back at him. He must have seen _something_ he liked, because he immediately rolled to face Sasuke, resting his elbow on the seat of Sasuke's couch.

"Tell me more about you."

Sasuke let out a puff of air, biting down on a smile. He ran his fingers through Kurama's fur.

"I'm a cat person."

Naruto laughed. "As _if._ I thought I was a dog person 'till I became a vet and realized I just loved everybody."

Sasuke snorted. "Sounds about right."

"What else? Keep going."

"I...have an older brother."

"What—really? How much older?"

"Five years."

"Does he—I mean—do you—okay, you can tell me to shut up and I will, but does he, um, live in Japan too?"

"Part of the time. He travels a lot." Sasuke paused for a moment. "And, yes," he continued, answering Naruto's actual question, "we do get along better than I do with my parents."

Naruto's face lit up.

"I'm glad," he said, and something in his eyes was so honest and genuine and _raw_ that Sasuke inexplicably felt a lump get stuck in his throat—

"What," Sasuke looked away, clearing his throat a little, "about you?"

"Oh—I, well, y'know I was in the foster system, so like, I've got a ton of siblings there. I was always switching between them." Naruto laughed a little. "I was a homeschooled foster kid for a big chunk of my childhood. Social nightmare, too."

"Really?" Sasuke scanned over him. "You strike me more as a social butterfly."

"Aw," Naruto ducked his head a little, "gee, thanks. I think I get a little annoying, though. I used to get a _lot_ annoying."

Sasuke shrugged a little.

"I haven't been annoyed yet."

Naruto glanced back at him.

"Not at all?"

Sasuke shook his head. "If I was," he said softly, "you would be well aware."

"You know what," Naruto said, laughing, "I really believe that. I figured my gameplay was at least a little annoying, though."

"Well I'll give you that," Sasuke muttered, and Naruto slapped his shoulder. He was smiling, though, and he hadn't seemed to realize that Sasuke's computer had turned back on…

"I guess I'm a pretty social guy, though," Naruto said, eyes darting off to the side. "I hadn't really considered it. I like people."

"Mm," Sasuke shook his head a little, "that makes one of us."

Naruto laughed.

"Explains the shirt," Naruto said, and Sasuke nudged him a little. "Is that why you hated the club so much?"

Sasuke glanced back at him.

"I mean—like, was it—was it, like, that you're introverted? Or were there—other, uh, reasons?"

Ah.

There it was.

"You are," Sasuke started, "just about the least subtle person on this planet."

"What? No—I—oh my god," Naruto buried his face into his hands, "I just—"

"Why do you want to know?"

Naruto peeked up at him through his fingers. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Um," Sasuke visibly saw Naruto swallow, "I—just—I'm just, uh—"

"Karin's a lesbian," Sasuke said, and he watched as Naruto visibly seemed to shrink.

"Oh—cool, okay. I—"

The disappointment was _palpable_.

"Juugo's never specified, and Suigetsu refuses to label himself." Sasuke rolled his eyes a little, and he could feel Naruto's eyes back on him, as if they were boring holes—

Sasuke met his eyes.

"And I'm gay."

Several things happened at once. Naruto's eyes widened, for one, and then they quickly darted away as Naruto ducked his head down (as if he was trying to hide his smile, or maybe the way his cheeks flushed)—

"You know," Sasuke said quietly, "every thought you have is written all over your face."

Naruto put his face in his hands.

"I know," came his muffled voice. "People tell me that all the time."

"Have you ever successfully lied?"

Naruto groaned and pulled his hands away from his face.

"No," he shot Sasuke a sheepish, utterly embarrassed smile, "not once. I'm the worst."

Sasuke hid his smile behind his hand.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair.

"Um," he swallowed, "I'm bi, for the record. And I—okay, I fully intended on just driving you home and that was it, I wasn't trying to be—I really didn't—"

"I know."

Naruto glanced over at him.

"Okay—okay, good. Good. Um, and then—I was gonna say...something," Naruto waved a hand vaguely around himself, looking away, "tomorrow. Or tonight. Whenever you kicked me out—so you wouldn't, like, awkwardly be stuck with this guy who you weren't into and you could just slam the door in my face. If you wanted."

"Considerate," Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck in response, ducking his head again. He was still smiling (a little wider, now), but his eyes could only seem to meet Sasuke's for a moment at time.

Kurama took the opportunity to let out a loud groan as he twisted off of Sasuke lap to lay flat on his back, paws straight up in the air.

"I think your dog is defective," Sasuke said.

Naruto's snort quickly turned into a laugh, and he reached over Sasuke to rub Kurama's belly.

"You think?" he asked, laughing. "I know he is."

He pulled his hand back, then, and Sasuke knew the rest of his body was going to follow. It was a warmth he wasn't quite willing to let go of, yet, and it was as if his body moved on its own when he pressed a hand against Naruto's waist—

Naruto froze, hands still on either side of Sasuke. Well, one of them was more up in the air, as he stared at Sasuke (and Sasuke watched as his eyes moved down his face, and Naruto's tongue darted out against his lips)—

"Want me to keep my glasses on?"

"Oh, fuck you."

It was the only warning Sasuke had before Naruto's lips were on his.

And Sasuke laughed, into the kiss, because he could feel Naruto's smile too—stretching against his lips, as he gently pulled Sasuke's glasses off. His lips felt soft and smooth and just as warm as every other part of Naruto had been—Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto's neck and pulled him closer—just for a little more—

Naruto pulled away.

Sasuke blinked the stars from his eyes and realized that the panting noise...was not coming from either of them.

"This isn't a threeway, Kurama," Naruto muttered, squinting at his dog.

Sasuke's snort turned into a laugh, and he shoved Naruto off of him—the guy was such a _moron_ —but Kurama only took it as his chance to stick himself in between them.

" _Kurama_ ," Naruto whined, pulling at the dog, "you're being a cockblock."

"Maybe he's jealous."

Naruto threw him a grin. "Of me, maybe."

Sasuke kicked at him, and Naruto dissolved into laugher. Kurama, as if sensing the mood, bounced around them excitedly.

"It's not playtime, Kurama! It's bedtime. _Bedtime_ ," Naruto insisted, staring the dog down. Kurama ducked his head down, but wagged his tail.

Naruto reached up and gave his head a good rub.

"I'll play with you tomorrow. Bedtime."

"It is bedtime," Sasuke muttered, checking his phone again. Past three AM, and his friends had finally decided to acknowledge that he'd gotten a ride home from someone else.

So reliable, those three.

Naruto glanced back at him, just as Kurama finally decided to settle down.

"Did you want me to…?"

Sasuke answered by pulling Naruto to his feet.

"C'mon, moron," he said quietly, taking in the slow, blushing smile on Naruto's face. Naruto's hand slipped into Sasuke's as they made their way down the hall, but Sasuke didn't say a word, and neither did Naruto—

Sasuke let go, just as he ducked into the bathroom.

"I just—have to check—"

It wasn't as if he had planned for this. He hadn't had a relationship in years, and he hadn't intended on picking anyone up anytime soon, and he _knew_ that nothing was in the bedroom, but there was the smallest chance that he might—

"Whatcha looking for?"

Naruto leaned against the sink, reaching a little to wash his hands. Sasuke stuck himself back into the cabinet.

"Something I don't have, apparently," he muttered, continuing to search nonetheless.

There went his plans _and_ his pride.

Sasuke straightened back up and looked away.

"Sorry," he said awkwardly. "I'm not—" he cleared his throat a little, "prepared."

There was a pause.

"Well, gee, Sasuke," Naruto said, one hand tracing along the porcelain of the sink as he moved closer, "if you wanted me to go down on you, all you had to do was ask."

Sasuke's brain short-circuited.

He didn't know which one of them moved first. It might have been Naruto's hands, that pulled Sasuke forward by the hips—or it might have been Sasuke's body, which pushed Naruto back though the doorway—back, into the next—back, onto the bed—

"I do love, though," Naruto said, twisting them around until he leaned over Sasuke, "knowing you wanna have sex with me."

And Sasuke's face flushed, but Naruto's hands were already under his shirt—his lips were already on his neck—Sasuke breathed in and he felt his shirt be tossed over his head—he breathed out and Naruto's hands traced up his body—he breathed in and his back arched into the touch—

"I knew it," Naruto's voice—further away now—made Sasuke open his eyes. "You know exactly how hot you are."

Sasuke scoffed and looked away. Naruto had pulled back just to stare at him, apparently. He wasn't exactly complaining, but he would appreciate being able to _reciprocate_ , and considering Naruto was still fully dressed—

Sasuke reached out and pulled him forward by his waistband.

It was Naruto's turn, now, to melt underneath Sasuke. And Sasuke kept his eyes open, this time, so he could appreciate the soft panting of Naruto's lips—the glazed, hooded lust in his eyes—Naruto's very, very fit body—

"Fuck," he breathed out, and it was a frustrated sigh. He'd never been harder in his _life_. He'd never liked someone so _quickly_ in his life. He'd never liked someone _and_ been so sexually attractive to them in his—

"Yeah," Naruto breathed, but the smile was back on his face, "give me ten minute to grab lube tomorrow and we will. Hell, I'll go out right now. You have a preference?"

Sasuke swallowed.

"I'm a switch."

Naruto's pupils visibly dilated.

"Me too."

And Sasuke suddenly very clearly understood Naruto's response, because the myriad of images ( _possibilities_ ) that flashed through Sasuke's mind at the thought—

Naruto pushed him back against the mattress.

"Take yours off too," was all Sasuke had the sense of mind to say as Naruto pulled the last of his clothes from him, as he leaned over Sasuke's cock and Sasuke felt his breath dance along his skin—

"Ah—!"

There was no hesitation as Naruto's lips wrapped around him. No hesitation to his mouth (warm and wet and Sasuke arched back into the pillows and told himself that yanking Naruto closer would never go over well), no hesitation to his hands (which grabbed, pulled, slid along his skin, as if Naruto could feel it, too)—and it wasn't as if he'd never felt this before, but somehow, like this—with him—

Naruto did _something_ then, with his tongue, and Sasuke bit the back of his hand to stifle the moan. He could barely find the strength to open his eyes—to fully appreciate the _view_ that was Naruto, as he reached the tip of Sasuke's cock with his tongue—

"Sit up," Naruto whispered, voice so full of breath that Sasuke _felt_ it, "I wanna see you when you cum."

And Sasuke was helpless to do anything but obey, even though his arms had the strength of jelly and his legs were even worse off—they shook as he pushed himself up, but Naruto took him by the hips and helped him move—

And then he was back, tongue moving around Sasuke's head—deepthroating him and _slowly_ pulling back up, eyes flicking to Sasuke as if gauging his reaction—and Sasuke was very quickly finding he was entirely unable to hide his reaction anymore, he was barely able to stifle the moans—he could feel it building, twisting, coiling inside of him, he was—

"Close, Naruto—I'm—"

Naruto redoubled his efforts, squeezing his hips so hard it almost hurt—

"Ah—f—nngh," Sasuke doubled forwards, nails digging into Naruto's shoulders, gasping for air—his orgasm rocketed through him and he could barely sit up—he could barely open his eyes—he gasped for breath in time with the waves of pleasure—

"That good, huh?"

Naruto's voice was right by his ear, and Sasuke's eyes snapped open.

"You never took your pants off," Sasuke accused, panting and disoriented and desperately trying to pull himself back together—

Naruto ducked his head.

"I got kinda eager," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry."

Sasuke raised his chin.

"Make up for it, then."

A blushing Naruto bit his lip, but pushed himself off the bed nonetheless. Sasuke sat up a little more to appreciate the view—

"That good, huh?" he mocked. There was nothing subtle about how turned on Naruto was, and Sasuke made no move to hide his stare (or his satisfaction).

"Shut up," Naruto muttered, "you know you're hot. Shut up."

Sasuke shifted along the bed to get closer.

"You should know the same."

For a moment, Naruto's smile only widened, and then it leaned down just enough to capture Sasuke's lips in a slow, tantalizing kiss. Still, it was rather hard to ignore the _rather hard_ object not a foot away from his face—

"Stay standing," Sasuke whispered as they pulled apart, and Naruto let out a soft laugh.

"You're really gonna test my stamina, huh," he said, but he made no motion to move away as Sasuke pulled him closer by the hips. He sucked in a breath when Sasuke moved onto his knees, and then he didn't seem to breath at all—

"Oh— _god_ —"

Naruto was immediately crumbling in his grip, and Sasuke loved it. He didn't know how he had expected the blonde to be anything other than vocal, responsive, _reactive_ —

"Jesus—this—"

He couldn't even string two words together—each time Sasuke moved (he changed, he pulled, sucked, licked, turned), Naruto's brain seemed to cleave his thought in two, and Sasuke wasn't about to let him have anymore. Not if he could help it. Not after how hard he'd made Sasuke cum—

"Sasuke—I'm already—"

Naruto's hands clasped at his shoulders, his voice strained with pleasure—he gasped for air and then his breath stopped, but Sasuke kept moving, kept moving, kept—

" _Ah_ , god, Sasuke—!"

Sasuke swallowed—once, twice—and then Naruto's cock was pulled from his mouth as the blonde stumbled. Sasuke grabbed ahold of his hips just as Naruto grabbed onto the bed—

"Jesus fucking Christ," Naruto gasped, swallowing. "I'm never gonna be able to stand again."

Sasuke snorted.

"Then come lay down."

Naruto made a lazy, groaning noise of agreement, and crawled onto the bed.

"'m a cuddler, 'suke," he slurred, one arm already wrapping around Sasuke. "Just warnin'."

Sasuke only breathed out in response, as Naruto's warmth tangled around him. His eyes were already heavy—his head even more so—

His last thought, before sleep overtook him, was how easy it would be to get used to this.

* * *

Kurama was whining again.

Naruto groaned. His dog was a morning person, although Naruto was not—but if Kurama decided it was time to get up, then he should probably—

"Make your dog shut up."

Naruto's eyes sprung open.

"Oh," Naruto said, staring at the beautiful, completely naked man next to him. That—that hadn't been a dream. Oh. That had completely felt like a dream—

Sasuke blearily cracked an eye open.

"Are you in denial?" he mumbled, pulling the covers closer to him.

"A little," Naruto answered, still staring. He'd been so tired yesterday—tired and giddy and exhilarated—that it had all just felt—this all just felt—

 _Whiiine_.

"Oh, shit," Naruto sat up, "crap—sorry, what time is it—"

Kurama was whining at the door—which Naruto had absolutely no memory of closing—and it was either for food or outside. Either way meant Naruto would have to leave, and—

"Too early," Sasuke grumbled, but he rolled to face Naruto with eyes that were far more awake. "What's wrong?

"I, um," Naruto rubbed at his eyes and heaved in a breath, "Kurama needs breakfast, probably. I usually give him something in the mornings, um, can I—"

Sasuke propped himself up (the covers slipped off his shoulder a little more, and Naruto's mouth felt so very dry—).

"What does he need?"

Naruto paused, midway through trying to find his pants.

"He's usually got kibbles, sometimes I give him something extra though. He'll keep bugging us until—"

"I...have a steak in the freezer," Sasuke offered, not quite meeting Naruto's eye, "if that…"

Naruto was immediately, violently reminded how much he liked this guy.

"Do you want a dog, Sasuke?" he asked. "Because this is how you get a dog."

Sasuke snorted, and settled back down into the bed. He didn't quite close his eyes, though, and Naruto liked to think that that had something to do with the clothes he was still in the process of pulling on—

"Want some clothes?" he offered, pulling the bottom of his shirt down. Sasuke nodded softly.

"Okay," Naruto grinned, "closet? Dresser? I'm just gonna randomly start opening drawers if you don't—"

"Dresser, moron," Sasuke said, but Naruto saw him relax into the covers just a little more. "Second drawer down."

Naruto opened it, and grinned.

"Pajamas, nice. Hang on—no," he said, as soon as Sasuke looked like he was going to open his mouth, "I get to decide. Hmmm…"

Plaid was way too boring, but it was like all Sasuke had in here was boring stuff. He had to have at least _one_ pair of—

"Ooh!" Cats—little black cats all _over_ , this was— "Perfect."

Naruto tossed the pants at Sasuke.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but that soft, indulgent smile was back, and it made Naruto feel just as giddy as it had yesterday—

"Okay, so—steak in the freezer, yeah?"

Sasuke shrugged a little. "Help yourself to whatever you'd like."

"Does that include a spare toothbrush?"

Sasuke snorted. "If you can find an unopened one."

Naruto laughed, and Sasuke sat up a little more. He looked obviously tired, but—

"Did you want me to—"

"No, oh my god, stay in bed," Naruto crawled back on it to emphasize the point. "You've got a day off, take it. I'm gonna come back as soon as Kurama's happy."

Sasuke's smile grew. "My keys are by the door."

Naruto grabbed his hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. Morning breath was the _only_ thing stopping him from just kissing the living daylights out of Sasuke right now—well, that and—

 _Whiiiiiine_.

"Okay, I'll—I'll be back."

"...Alright."

* * *

Sasuke was…never going to fall back asleep.

He'd tossed and turned, twisted the sheets around himself, heard Naruto leave and then come back in, heard the plates clattering around—they had gone to bed past four in the morning, for god's sake—

This was _ridiculous_.

Not to mention offering his key to a relative stranger was far from the smartest thing he'd ever done, and this had been a series of terrible decisions that had somehow, so far, turned out to ultimately be—

"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto's voice was hesitant, and his face just barely peeked through the door. Sasuke rolled to face him fully.

"You up? Or—uh, I've got food, but I've also got Kurama, and he'll probably—"

"He can come in." Sasuke had planned on washing his sheets soon anyway. Well, not really, but he could now—and it wasn't as if—

"Don't say I didn't warn ya."

Naruto nudged the door open with his hip, and Sasuke was immediately tackled by a blur of red fur—

"Kurama!" He heard Naruto laugh, but Sasuke was far too occupied with keeping his face as far away from that tongue as possible—

"Oh my god," something shifted, and then he heard Naruto strain to pull his dog back— "Jesus, I'm sorry, Sasuke—I dunno why he's so nuts with you—"

"You warned me." Sasuke used the covers to wipe his face as he sat up. "Good to know it doesn't take a night to forget me."

Sasuke scratched the top of Kurama's head, who was still sitting on his feet.

"You're unforgettable," Naruto said, and it was casual—it was a joke, he _knew_ that, but something in his chest squeeze all the same—

"Please tell me," Naruto said, sitting down and giving him the most brilliant smile, "that you like omelettes."

Sasuke snorted. "I do."

"Good," Naruto turned to the bedside table, "'cause your only other option is my first attempt."

Naruto gestured at the mash of eggs in his lap.

"I—oh, wait—you're okay with food in your bed, yeah?"

He generally wasn't, actually, but—

"There's a dog in my bed," he pointed out.

Naruto laughed and ducked his head.

"Yeah—true. Okay. Sorry." He passed Sasuke a plate, shooting Kurama a warning look as the dog perked up—

"It's fine," he said, eyeing the plate in his hand. Kurama shifted a little closer, and Sasuke moved his legs so the dog could put his head in his lap again properly—

"You know he's sucking up to you to get your food."

"It's working, then," Sasuke said. "Did he have enough this morning?"

"Oh he had the whole steak in your freezer—he's the happiest dog alive. I can—I mean, I wanna pay you back though—for all this, um, so, " Naruto ducked his head and looked up at Sasuke with sparkling, nervous eyes, "I was thinking—maybe over dinner?"

"I'm free tonight," Sasuke said immediately.

Naruto _beamed_.

"Yeah—okay—okay, that—um, hang on, I'll—oh, shit, my phone's dead, um—" Naruto scrambled with it, nearly knocking over his bowl in the process—

Sasuke blinked, and realized his phone was likely still buried in a pile of clothes—although, the chances of it not being dead, too, were awfully slim—

Sasuke flicked his drawer open, and ripped a piece of a page off to scribble his name and number on. Naruto took it as if Sasuke had offered him the world.

"Huh," he said, beaming at the piece of paper, "your last—how d'you pronounce your last name? I can't believe I don't even know your fucking last name—"

The last of the sentence was said in an exhilarated laugh, and Sasuke felt more than a little relief flood him at the thought that Naruto, too, was being swept up in whatever mad connection this was.

"Uchiha."

"Uchiha," Naruto repeated. "Sasuke Uchiha. You sound so posh."

Sasuke shoved him back by the shoulder, and promptly turned back to his food.

"Yours?" he asked quietly, wrapping a bit of omelette around his fork. It looked awfully stuffed—Sasuke couldn't even identify everything that was in it—

"Uzumaki," Naruto said. "It was my birth mom's last name."

Sasuke looked up. Naruto ducked his head a little, as if embarrassed.

"What is she like?"

But Sasuke was just...fascinated.

"Oh," Naruto looked surprised, "oh, no, she, uh—I never met her. She, um, passed away giving birth to me. And my birth dad had passed that year, so…yeah. Sorry—it's kind of a downer, I know."

Sasuke gently placed his hand on Naruto's. It seemed to settle him.

"I don't usually like telling people my last name," Naruto admitted, "'cause it's got such a...weird vibe, for me, I guess? But, uh, yeah—sorry, I don't usually ramble about this stuff—"

"Uchiha," Sasuke started quietly, "is a very powerful name in Japan. Very influential—well-known. My parents were always very...proud of that."

Naruto didn't reply—he only scanned Sasuke, eyebrows furrowed as if he knew—

"So I don't tend to like using the name either."

Naruto's hand threaded with Sasuke's, and squeezed tight.

"Sorry," he said quietly.

"Me too," Sasuke offered back, and then they were quiet.

And one hand was plenty to eat an omelette with, in Sasuke's opinion, so as long as Naruto didn't let go, Sasuke was perfectly fine with this. And it might have just been the hunger speaking, but this was awfully good…

"Do you cook?"

Naruto blinked—and then the smile was back in full force.

"You like it? I'm not great or anything but I kinda grew up cooking. I've been trying to experiment more—I used a bunch of your cheeses. Sorry."

"Put it in writing and you won't have to apologize."

"Put what?"

"The recipe."

Naruto visibly swelled with happiness.

"I—yeah. Yeah, 'course, I just gotta remember—" He cut himself off in a laugh, "I just kinda wing it. You had some cool seasoning stuff though."

Sasuke shrugged a little. "I mean to cook. I never do."

"Cooking for one sucks," Naruto said. "The only reason I don't feel bad throwing out half the stuff I do is 'cause I have Kurama. But—so, y'know, if you wanna come over and eat my leftovers anytime—"

"I can join Kurama," Sasuke said. "Good to know where I stand."

"N—Sasuke!" Naruto laughed, giving their hands a shake. "You ass—Kurama lives way better than I do, y'know."

"I believe it. He had steak for breakfast."

Naruto laughed. "That was all you!"

Sasuke shrugged, but didn't deny it. He still felt Naruto's eyes on him, even as he turned his gaze to the plate—

"Jesus," Naruto breathed, "I like you way too much."

Sasuke's gaze snapped back to him.

Naruto shook his head and let out another deep, calming breath. "Sorry. You can still kick me out anytime, I just—"

"I don't want to."

It was true. By all means, he should have wanted to. Sasuke very rarely had visitors and never once enjoyed them for longer than a day—Naruto should have, at this point, more than overstayed his welcome. Sasuke should have been cheering for him to leave.

But here he was, asking him to stay.

Naruto groaned and put his face in his hands. Sasuke immediately missed the warmth of his hand—

"You're making it so much worse."

"My apologies," Sasuke said softly, watching him. "Get out of my apartment. I was only using you for sex."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, great job you did of _that_. Should I bring my own lube next time?"

"...Fuck you."

Sasuke's face burned at the reminder, but Naruto paused midway through nudging Sasuke to rest his head on his shoulder. Naruto smiled up at him, and Sasuke felt himself melt.

"I did, actually," Naruto said, eyes bright and beautiful and _this should be fucking illegal_ , "grab some while I was out."

Sasuke paused.

"…Lube?"

"Yeah," Naruto sat back up only to duck his head. "Just—y'know, for your information. Just so you know. Yeah. Do with that what you—"

Sasuke couldn't think of a better invitation.

He'd been waiting to kiss Naruto all morning—every time he'd smiled and blushed and, hell, just _looked_ at him—

Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke and Sasuke _relished_ in the way he responded—thank god Sasuke wasn't the only one this eager—their lips moved together and Sasuke grabbed fistfuls of Naruto's hair just to stop him from moving away, just to try to bring him closer, just to get _more_ —

 _Knock, knock_.

They sprung apart just as Kurama flew off the bed, barking relentlessly at whatever poor person had knocked on Sasuke's door—

"Were you expecting someone?" Naruto asked, still panting—lips still swollen—

"Um," Sasuke swallowed, "no. No, I don't…"

He shoved himself out of the bed, surreptitiously adjusting his pants, and made his way down the hall.

"Back, Kurama. Kurama—"

"Kurama, c'mere, boy!" Naruto had apparently followed him out, and he crouched down to hug Kurama to him.

He threw Sasuke a wink, and Sasuke rolled his eyes as he opened the door—

"…Why."

"Aw, that's the greeting we get? We brought breakfast!" Suigetsu held up a bag, beaming with every bit of the asshole he was. Juugo was the only one with the decency to look apologetic.

" _I_ brought breakfast," Karin said, scowling. "Morning, Sasuke. Nice outfit."

"Fuck off. Why are you here?"

"We had an idea," Karin crossed her arms, "and you wouldn't answer your phone."

God _damn_ it.

"It's dead."

"Yeah, we figured. You gonna let us in or what?"

Sasuke took a moment to spare Naruto the most helpless, apologetic look he could muster, and then he let the door swing open.

"Kurama—Kurama, gentle, wait, gentle—I hope you guys like dogs—" Naruto said, frantically pulling Kurama back before he launched himself at them.

"Let him eat them," Sasuke muttered. "This is Naruto. Naruto—this is…" Sasuke waved a hand, "everyone else."

"Wow," Karin said.

"Oh!" Suigetsu sidled up to him, and Sasuke was immediately on edge. "So when you said you found a ride last night, you weren't talking about a car—"

"I will literally murder you."

It was _Naruto_ that laughed, then, and Sasuke felt the annoyance slip from his grasp as quickly as it had come—

"You guys are part of Taka, right?" Naruto said, holding out a hand to shake. "Kurama's friendly, don't worry—"

"Juugo," Juugo said quietly, already patting the top of Kurama's head. Suigetsu eagerly shook Naruto's hand.

"I'm Suigetsu," he said, grinning. "And Karin's in a bad mood 'cause I locked her in the car—"

"I'm in a bad mood because you're an asshole and I want to _sleep_."

Sasuke had never agreed with her more.

"Tell you guys what," Naruto said, "I'll grab Kurama's leash and head home. If you've gotta work—"

And Naruto was already turning around to dig through the couch, even as Sasuke shook his head—even as the _wait, not yet, don't leave yet_ built up in his throat—

"Thanks," said Suigetsu. "We might be some time."

Damn it all to hell.

Naruto tapped the side of his leg again, and Kurama sidled right up to him. The dog's leash was back on him in barely a moment, and then Naruto straightened up.

There was a pause.

"Do you, ah, have everything?"

Naruto smiled and flicked a ripped piece of paper between his fingers. "Got the most important thing."

Sasuke's face flushed.

"Lemmie know if your plans change, though," Naruto said, moving closer to him. "If you've gotta work tonight—"

"I'm free tonight." _Fuck_ working tonight. Absolutely not. Absolutely—

"He might not be free tonight," Suigetsu's voice came from over his shoulder, and Sasuke considered it a testament to his absolutely immaculate personal restraint that he didn't turn around and slap him—

But Naruto only smiled.

"I'll text as soon as my phone's charged. 'Kay?"

Sasuke swallowed.

"…Alright."

"Okay," Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet for a moment, before his eyes flickered to everyone else. "Then, I'll—"

He ducked around Sasuke, Kurama trotting at his side, to the door—

"Oh," he turned around, "nice kinda meeting you guys."

His grin was sheepish, but bright, and he rubbed the back of his neck as he hovered at the doorway—

"Your jacket," Sasuke said, as Naruto made to turn around again. "It's—probably still in the bedroom."

Naruto ducked his head.

"Is it?" he asked, unmoving from the spot. "Oops."

Ah.

Sasuke couldn't stifle the smile if he had all the strength in the world.

Neither, from the looks of things, could Naruto. He took a step back, and glanced behind him, before trotting back up to Sasuke and placing a quick kiss on his cheek. "Bye, Sasuke!"

Sasuke watched him go, leaning against the doorway as if it was the only thing keeping him upright.

"...Bye."

...

"We leave you alone for one night and you run off and fall in love."

"Fuck off," Sasuke rounded back on his team. "This idea better be fucking brilliant."

The door closed.

* * *

 _A/N: It just kept getting longer and longer :P But I hope you guys liked it! Let me know :)  
_

 _Till next time,_

 _\- Kinomi_


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